Leadership

Paralympic Swim Coach, USA

Shawn Kornoelje

any coaches love their sport, but
the love affair took an unusual twist for Shawn Kornoelje. The head
coach of the U.S. Paralympic Swim Team proposed to his wife,
Paralympic athlete Cheryl Angelelli, in front of a crowd of 4,000
at a championship event, and he’s been her husband/coach ever
since.

Sweet as that
story is, it’s not the main reason Kornoelje’s name
(pronounced Kor-neel-ya) is so well-respected. Since 1998,
he’s been a key member of the U.S. Paralympics coaching
staff, preparing teams for the 2000 Sydney Games, 2002 World
Championships in Argentina and the 2004 Athens
Olympics.

He was head
coach of the men’s team in 2004 and serves as the swimming
coordinator on the Michigan Wheelchair Sports board. In addition,
he conducts a disability clinic for coaches at Michigan State
University, breaking down stroke technique and teaching them about
training equipment, proper workouts and safety. The clinic is open
to coaches who have had little to no experience coaching disabled
swimmers.

One of his
swimmers, who is missing both legs, holds three gold medals from
three Paralympic Games and numerous world and American records.
It’s people such as that swimmer who inspired Kornoelje
— and still do today. “The chance to coach a person
with such high expectations of himself despite the disability was
not to be missed,” he says.

And though
all of his swimmers are important to Kornoelje, he can’t help
but favor one: his wife, who ranks No. 2 in the world in the
Paralympic 200-meter free-style. — Rin-rin Yu